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Newsletter,
Vol.1, No. 1
Editor: Ting Yu
Legal Alliance for
Greensboro Justice
A Project of the Greensboro Justice Fund
Trials Open in Greensboro
COURT SYSTEM INDICTED
On June 16 in Greensboro the Greensboro 6 and the
Communist Workers Party refused to back down in the
face of attack by the government. The government
thought it was putting the CWP on trial. But that was
turned around and it was the court system, the FBI,
police — the whole bourgeois state — that was put on
trial.
Even though the judge banned demonstrations within
300 feet of the courthouse, 40-50 demonstrators led by
CWP picketed right outside. Chanting "Government
and Klan You Can't Hide, Socialist Revolution Will
Avenge the Five," the demonstrators told the
ruling class that they would not recognize the upside-
down "justice" system.
Jury selection began on June 16 in the trial of six
Klan/Nazis for the November 3, 1979 murder of the
Communist Workers Party 5 during a Death to the Klan
rally. At the same time, across the hallway in the same
courthouse, five of the CWP supporters and members
were to plead guilty or not guilty to the outrageous
trumped-up charges that the demonstrators caused the
murder of the CWP 5 by rioting.
For seven months the government has been carrying
out a legal cover-up of the fact that the murders were
political assassinations, planned and carried out by the
highest levels of the government.
CWP AND GREENSBORO 6
REJECT CAPITALIST COURT
PROCEEDINGS
At the arraignment the state refused to allow Nelson
Johnson, Rand Manzella, Dori and Alan Blitz, and
Lacey Russell to defend themselves or be co-counsel.
Instead, a lawyer was appointed to enter a plea for them
rather than allow them the opportunity to speak out
against the criminal capitalist system. The judge
freaked out at the thought of being cursed at and
exposed.
But the five spoke out anyway. When the judge began
reading the indictments each one of the five stood up
one at a time and denounced the court, telling the attentive people in the audience why the state has to try to
repress the CWP's leadership in the 80's, why the state
is so desperate with its economic and political crisis that
it has to promote the Klan and Nazis and unleash the
FBI.
Nelson Johnson, CWP spokespersona and one of the
Greensboro 6, said, "We reject the capitalist judicial
proceedings. It is the capitalist class which hired and
Police attack CWP supporter Willena Cannon, just after she defended Paul Bermanzohn from a blow by the police. She was one
of four demonstrators arrested. Her look reflects her determination to put the whole capitalist judicial system on trial.
used the Klan and Nazis to kill the CWP 5. This trial is a
sham. The courts are a part of the state apparatus used
to opress the working class and minorities under the
disgurse of dispensing justice and law and order. The
only justice is to end the system of capitalism and
establish revolutionary socialism."
He continued, "We refuse to participate in the cover-
up of the assassinations. From the beginning the state
has tried to cover-up the conspiracy to carry out political
assassinations instigated by the FBI and other government agencies and let the Klan and Nazi murderers off
the hook. We do not think the court will give the Klan and
Nazis the death penalty. It is evident that the court's real
intention is to put the CWP on trial. We will turn this
around and indict the capitalist class."
Refusing to be silenced or intimidated by the judge,
Rand Manzella yelled out at the judge, "You said I
murdered my five comrades. Bill — the best man at my
wedding — you said I murdered him!"
In desperation and fear of more exposure the judge
had the five taken from the courtroom by the cops. But
the statements had been made and the political offense
had begun. This is only the beginning too. The five CWP
supporters and members framed for "rioting" will represent themselves at their trial (with co-counsel) and any
attempt to shut them up will expose the court even more.
continued on next page ....
Object Description
| Title | Newsletter, vol. 1, no. 1, Legal Alliance for Greensboro Justice Newsletter, vol. 1, no. 1 |
| Date | 1980 |
| Date approximate? | yes |
| Creator | Greensboro Justice Fund |
| Biographical/historical note | The Greensboro Justice Fund was organized in 1980, in response to the deaths of five Communist Workers Party members at the Death to the Klan march on November 3, 1979, colloquially known as the Greensboro Massacre. In addition to supporting the families of the five that were killed that day and litigation of the perpetrators in the 1980s, the GJF currently supports other grassroots groups and activists working for civil rights, social change, and radical democracy in the South. To learn more, please visit http://www.gjf.org |
| Subject headings | Greensboro Massacre, Greensboro, N.C., 1979 |
| Topics | Greensboro Massacre, 1979 |
| Place | Greensboro (N.C.) |
| Description |
This first issue of the Legal Alliance for Greensboro Justice Newsletter, dating from circa June, 1980, includes news of the grand jury investigation and trial on the November 3, 1979 "Greensboro Massacre" where five protestors were killed at a "Death to the Klan" march. Reported from the viewpoint of the Communist Workers Party (CWP), articles focus on the CWP's rejection of the proceedings, their refusal to participate or cooperate, the possibility of a government conspiracy, and on organizing activities in Greensboro. It is argued that the victims themselves, as well as the CWP, are being placed on trial, and that this justifies the CWP's lack of cooperation with the government. A cover-up is alleged, and specific points against the Greensboro police department and district attorney's office are outlined. Included in this newsletter are photographs of Wilena Cannon being arrested, as well as Nelson Johnson, Roslyn Pelles, Dale Sampson, Wilena Cannon, Paul Bermanzohn and Tom Clark at a press conference. Note that the document may be missing several pages (only ten are present, but a "page 14" is referenced), however all articles included are intact. |
| Type | text |
| Original format | newsletters |
| Original dimensions | 8.5" x 11" |
| Original publisher | Greensboro, N.C. : Greensboro Justice Fund |
| Language | en |
| Contributing institution | Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University |
| Source collection | UA.29.02.0130 Sydney Nathans Papers |
| Finding aid link | http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/findingaids/uanathans/ |
| Rights statement | http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
| Additional rights information | IN COPYRIGHT. This item is subject to copyright. Contact the contributing institution for permission to reuse. |
| Object ID | Duke_UA.29.02.0130.1177 |
| Digital publisher | The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University Libraries, PO Box 26170, Greensboro NC 27402-6170, 336.334.5305 -- http://library.uncg.edu/ |
| Sponsor | LSTA grant administered by the North Carolina State Library -- http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/ld/grants/lsta.html |
| OCLC number | 884367650 |
Page/Item Description
| Title | Page 1 |
| Full text | Newsletter, Vol.1, No. 1 Editor: Ting Yu Legal Alliance for Greensboro Justice A Project of the Greensboro Justice Fund Trials Open in Greensboro COURT SYSTEM INDICTED On June 16 in Greensboro the Greensboro 6 and the Communist Workers Party refused to back down in the face of attack by the government. The government thought it was putting the CWP on trial. But that was turned around and it was the court system, the FBI, police — the whole bourgeois state — that was put on trial. Even though the judge banned demonstrations within 300 feet of the courthouse, 40-50 demonstrators led by CWP picketed right outside. Chanting "Government and Klan You Can't Hide, Socialist Revolution Will Avenge the Five" the demonstrators told the ruling class that they would not recognize the upside- down "justice" system. Jury selection began on June 16 in the trial of six Klan/Nazis for the November 3, 1979 murder of the Communist Workers Party 5 during a Death to the Klan rally. At the same time, across the hallway in the same courthouse, five of the CWP supporters and members were to plead guilty or not guilty to the outrageous trumped-up charges that the demonstrators caused the murder of the CWP 5 by rioting. For seven months the government has been carrying out a legal cover-up of the fact that the murders were political assassinations, planned and carried out by the highest levels of the government. CWP AND GREENSBORO 6 REJECT CAPITALIST COURT PROCEEDINGS At the arraignment the state refused to allow Nelson Johnson, Rand Manzella, Dori and Alan Blitz, and Lacey Russell to defend themselves or be co-counsel. Instead, a lawyer was appointed to enter a plea for them rather than allow them the opportunity to speak out against the criminal capitalist system. The judge freaked out at the thought of being cursed at and exposed. But the five spoke out anyway. When the judge began reading the indictments each one of the five stood up one at a time and denounced the court, telling the attentive people in the audience why the state has to try to repress the CWP's leadership in the 80's, why the state is so desperate with its economic and political crisis that it has to promote the Klan and Nazis and unleash the FBI. Nelson Johnson, CWP spokespersona and one of the Greensboro 6, said, "We reject the capitalist judicial proceedings. It is the capitalist class which hired and Police attack CWP supporter Willena Cannon, just after she defended Paul Bermanzohn from a blow by the police. She was one of four demonstrators arrested. Her look reflects her determination to put the whole capitalist judicial system on trial. used the Klan and Nazis to kill the CWP 5. This trial is a sham. The courts are a part of the state apparatus used to opress the working class and minorities under the disgurse of dispensing justice and law and order. The only justice is to end the system of capitalism and establish revolutionary socialism." He continued, "We refuse to participate in the cover- up of the assassinations. From the beginning the state has tried to cover-up the conspiracy to carry out political assassinations instigated by the FBI and other government agencies and let the Klan and Nazi murderers off the hook. We do not think the court will give the Klan and Nazis the death penalty. It is evident that the court's real intention is to put the CWP on trial. We will turn this around and indict the capitalist class." Refusing to be silenced or intimidated by the judge, Rand Manzella yelled out at the judge, "You said I murdered my five comrades. Bill — the best man at my wedding — you said I murdered him!" In desperation and fear of more exposure the judge had the five taken from the courtroom by the cops. But the statements had been made and the political offense had begun. This is only the beginning too. The five CWP supporters and members framed for "rioting" will represent themselves at their trial (with co-counsel) and any attempt to shut them up will expose the court even more. continued on next page .... |
